Now that most of the contenders are stabled at Churchill Downs, I will start posting the workout notes daily. Check back for the latest news.
Sunday Work Tab:
Bandini 5f 1:00.80
Bellamy Road 5f 1:00.40
Giacomo (@Hol) 6f 1:11.80
Going Wild 5f :59.60
High Fly 5f 1:00.40
Flower Alley 5f 1:00.60
Noble Causeway 5f 1:00.00
Spanish Chestnut 5f 1:00.40
Scheduled to work at Churchill Monday (5/2):
Coin Silver
Closing Argument
Sort It Out
AFLEET ALEX - Cash is King Stable's Afleet Alex made two trips to the fast main track at Churchill Downs on a Sunday morning that began cool and clear.
With regular exercise rider Salomon Diego up, Afleet Alex went to the track at 6:05 and jogged two miles. After the renovation break, Afleet Alex returned to the track with visits to the paddock and gate on the itinerary and a leisurely stroll through the barn area. "The second time out, he went to the paddock for two or three minutes, then jogged to the half-mile pole, galloped a mile, went to the gate, jogged to the half-mile pole and then galloped another mile," trainer Tim Ritchey said.
"He is the kind of horse that enjoys being out," Ritchey said. "We started jogging two miles and then jogging another two miles (after the break) to get him used to it and he just thrived." Jeremy Rose has the Derby mount.
ANDROMEDA'S HERO / BELLAMY ROAD / HIGH FLY / NOBLE CAUSEWAY / SUN KING - Trainer Nick Zito completed the major preparations for his Kentucky Derby hopefuls with three works Sunday morning over a fast track at Churchill Downs.
In order of appearance on the track, Kinsman Stable's Bellamy Road worked five furlongs in 1:00.40, fourth-fastest of 58 at the distance; My Meadowview Farm's Noble Causeway worked five furlongs in company with Capac in 1:00, third-fastest of 58; and, Live Oak Plantation's High Fly, working in company with Last Samurai, worked five furlongs in 1:00.40, tied for fourth-fastest of 58. Maxine Correa was the rider on all three colts.
Zito talked about each work. "With Bellamy Road, I thought Maxine did a great job. There has been a lot of talk about horses being in there that maybe not rate a little bit or do what he has to do, or maybe he won't be able to get the trip. It was a good thing she worked him the way she did. You could see he was even all the way around, finished up good and he looked very relaxed doing it. Getting that out of the way, I thought Bellamy Road worked very well.
"On Noble Causeway, I thought he worked very well. I used a horse with him named Capac. Capac is not a bad horse. He is coming around now. We got that horse a few months ago. He's not Ghostzapper, so what happened was Capac obviously could not keep up with Noble Causeway, so maybe as far as the last part of that, I think that was good, too, because he might have gone a little too fast. On the other hand, we needed a little zip in him, because in the Derby, as we always say, these guys play for real and you've got to get to a spot sometimes and Gary (Stevens) is going to have to get to a spot, so that worked really well. We got that job done. I was really happy about his gallop out. We know he will go a mile and a quarter. We know he is royally bred. He went well.
"High Fly, he worked with a horse named Last Samurai, who is owned by Mrs. (Charlotte) Weber (of Live Oak), too, and I thought he went extremely well. I think the main thing with him was, whoever that horse was (that dropped in at the eighth pole) may be a blessing, because that last eighth, he really got himself going when he saw that horse. So, that was good, too. All five works went exceptionally well (including Thursday moves by Sun King and Andromeda's Hero)." Zito was asked about his preparations for Bellamy Road, who figures to be the favorite for Derby 131 off his front-running 17 ½-length victory in the Wood Memorial (GI).
"What we try to do in our program, since we are training horses, especially the last 15 years, is basically try to get all of our horses to relax," Zito said. "I think our stable now, people know that we try to get our horses to go a mile and a quarter, no matter what race it is. Don't get me wrong; it's the horses that get the job done. That's what we are trying to do. With Bellamy Road, there has been so much talk that he won'tr rate and this and that, at least this last work and the work before (1:02.20 on April 21 at Churchill Downs) at least shows us some indication that he will."
Tracy Farmer's Sun King, who will be ridden by Edgar Prado, galloped a mile and a half with Carlos Correa up. At Keeneland, Robert LaPenta's Andromeda's Hero galloped under exercise rider Megan Smillie. No rider has been confirmed on Andromeda's Hero.
